SUBSCRIBE

Our next Game Designers Guild meeting is coming up this Saturday, January 14th 6-9pm. If this is the first time you’re hearing about it, we’ve been hosting monthly meetings at the store where our brilliant cadre of local designers can playtest game prototypes, meet-n-greet each other, and discuss any or all aspects of board game design and manufacture. Everyone is welcome, whether you have your own game prototype, an idea for a game, or just want to get a behind-the-scenes look at the different processes of design and production.

Each meeting begins with a round of scheduled playtests, where participants have a chance to try one of several pre-selected prototypes, followed by a free-form session for open playtesting and discussions around board game design, development, and publishing.

If you would like to submit a prototype to be scheduled for playtesting at a future GDG meeting, please contact our Guild hosts, Greg Powers and Brian Powers, who will keep track of participants and what games are being playtested at a given meeting. Scheduling priority will eventually be given to players who have participated in previous playtesting sessions, but we expect it to take a few meetings before we have a diverse stable of games-in-progress to work with.

Please note that we will have generic non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) available for any participants wanting to use them, and designers are very welcome to additionally bring their own. We will also have feedback forms so that potential publishers will be able to take home ideas and suggestions in writing. The Gamescape Designers Guild is meant to be a workshop, of sorts, to help facilitate creativity and get more great games out on the market, and the environment that we’re shooting for is one of no pressure, no intimidation, and total legal creative safety.

To join in, just show up with a willingness to play, learn, teach, test, and help. You can give us a yell at the store or contact Greg and Brian via the addresses above for more info or to express your interest in bringing a game in any stage of production. We’ve even set up a board on our forums for Guild members to chat with each other in between meetings. That, especially, is a great place to introduce yourself and get your name on the list of regular contributors.

We think that the Gamescape Designers Guild is a great thing to be a part of, and we hope our creative community will use it as a service to help make their dream games happen. Be in touch with as things progress and help us make it exactly the kind of design meetings you want to join!